[Air-l] rhetorical analysis on SCMC

[jeremy hunsinger]

isn't there lag in any and every system of communication? vocality has 
lag, between when it is voiced and heard.  Signs have lag between when 
it is presented and it is seen.  In fact all forms of communication have 
lag of some sort, the question for me is not that it exists, but where 
the lag originates; the categories of the lag that we use to analyze it, 
what they are similar to, and different from.  


If lag comes from a an intermediate processor that is like a person 
pausing to think before they speak.  If it comes from the network that 
is like voice through air.  If it comes from our machine, then it is 
like us interpretting a new language while we are thinking of other 
things. There are corellates between human and machinic in the case of 
lag.  Arguably this might be due to the time and its ontological 
construction.  Time is the human category that we bring to the table and 
build into machines.  


Taking the machinic(technocentric) vs the humanist(usercentric) 
perspectives, I suspect in the end will do no significant work here.  I 
may be wrong.  The definition should be stable across systems, but the 
systems may change.  rhus we have something where lag is present and 
synchronous/assynchronous might end up meaning different things in this 
construction.  For instance, in synchronous, I assume a certain 
concurrent  presence between every person and their interface based on 
proximity to that machine and the apparent immediacy of response, like 
irc.  Assynchronous assumes that there need not be a proximal or 
immediate concurrent presence between every person and the interface.


Denise Carter wrote:

>>Sure, but one can concede that users can socially construct systems such
>>
>as
>
>>instant messaging as synchronous. It is an issue of whether we're using
>>technocentric definitions of systems or usercentric definitions of them.
>>
>>Joao
>>PhD Student
>>MIT / Sloan
>>
>
>
>
>i agree with you joao,
>denise
>
>D.M.CARTER
>DOCTORAL STUDENT
>CASS
>UNIVERSITY OF HULL
>EMAIL: d.m.carter at cas.hull.ac.uk
>OR: denisecarter at denisecarter.net
>
>
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jeremy hunsinger		http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy
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